To Be Like Jesus

"Our lives are destined to become like the life of Jesus."

This sentence really stood out for me in today's reading. Our lives to become like the life of Jesus??  Wow.  How can our lives, absorbed as they are with ourselves, with our own concerns and anxieties, our human foibles and restlessness, become like the life of Jesus?

Nouen gives us a clue when he writes of Jesus' obedience. That is not a word we moderns like much; perhaps it takes us back to our youth when mindless obedience was called for - no questions asked, just do what you are told.  I don't think this is the kind of obedience Nouen is talking about.  Jesus obeyed his Father because he was in such a loving, intimate relationship with him that it came as naturally as breathing to him to do what he knew his father would have him do.

Jesus came to bring us closer to God, to show us what God is like, to bring us to the same kind of intimacy that he shared with God.  When we look at the life of Jesus we see a life of giving - of his time, his energy, his love, his passion, his entire self.  All this he gave for us, at the bidding of his father.   Were there moments of doubt, fear, in that life?  You bet there was, just as there is for us.  But Jesus was in such a close relationship with God that to do other than what God hoped for was, ultimately, out of the question.

So what does that mean for us, living in the sometimes crazy world of the 21st century?  How do we go about making our lives like the life of Jesus?  It seems such an impossible goal!  But Nouen says that our lives are destined to be like his.  Somehow, that gives me hope.  And with hope we can set out to fulfill our destiny, right?  So we keep on plugging, listening to that little voice inside that tells us what we need to do, how we need to cherish what is good and right, how we need to look with compassion on all around us, how we need to keep our hearts open to a closer relationship with each other and with our creator - not because we are ordered to do so, not because we fear eternal damnation if we don't, but because we long for the intimacy with God that Jesus had.

I think back to my relationship with my grandmother, surely one of the people I loved most in the world. I obeyed her wishes (most of the time) not because I was afraid of her, or because she was some remote Being that demanded total obedience, but because I loved her so much, was so close to her, that I naturally wanted to please her and maintain that closeness and love.

Hmmm.  Could it be as simple as that?

Audrey